Frequently Asked Questions

SPO Scout is a browser extension for SharePoint Online administrators. From a side panel inside SharePoint it finds every library, list, folder and file in a site with unique permissions and shows who has access to each, looks up a user’s access, compares libraries and handles common admin tasks, without PowerShell or an app registration. It has a free plan; Pro is a license per Microsoft 365 tenant.

Yes. The permission report lists every folder and file with unique permissions and the users and groups on each; items that inherit follow their library. The user lookup covers the site and its lists and libraries, not individual folders or files.

A browser extension that works on the SharePoint page you have open and helps administrators check permissions, compare libraries and handle routine admin tasks with their existing sign-in, without a separate application or a script. SPO Scout is one: it runs in a side panel inside SharePoint.

You can audit SharePoint permissions faster by using a SharePoint admin extension like SPO Scout, which reports permissions directly inside your browser. In one consulting engagement an audit that had taken two weeks of manual work was completed in four hours; your own saving will depend on the size of the estate and how the audit is scoped. Open the site or library, open the SPO Scout panel and run the permission report: it lists every library, list, folder and file with unique permissions and who has access to each. On Pro you can then export the report to CSV, PDF or JSON for compliance documentation.

Yes. With SPO Scout Pro, you can export SharePoint permission reports to CSV (which opens in Excel), PDF or JSON for documentation and compliance purposes. This makes it easy to share findings with stakeholders, maintain audit records, or prepare for compliance reviews like SOC 2, HIPAA, or GDPR. The export lists each library and list, plus every folder and file with unique permissions, showing whether it inherits and, where it does not, which users and groups have access and at what permission level.

With SPO Scout Pro, open the library and run the shared-links scan. It lists the files and folders that carry a sharing link, with the type of each link — Anyone, Organization or Specific people — and can then remove all of the links it found in one step. A scan checks up to the first 2,000 items in the library and stops once it has found 500 items with links; remove those and scan again to find the next ones. Each removal is recorded in the action history.

No. SPO Scout gives you a visual permission audit in the browser, with no scripts to write or run. PowerShell is still the better tool for scheduled or tenant-wide reporting.

Yes, several. SPO Scout is one, built for permission audits, library comparison and admin tasks; it installs from the Chrome Web Store in Chrome, Edge, Brave or Opera. Other SharePoint extensions focus on admin shortcuts, page performance or developer tools.

IT administrators, SharePoint site owners, compliance and security teams, and Microsoft 365 consultants: anyone who checks SharePoint permissions, runs access reviews or prepares audit evidence on sites they administer.

Yes. SPO Scout compares the columns, content types and views of two libraries on the free plan; comparing folder structures needs Pro. It is useful during migrations, standardization projects, or when two libraries behave differently.

SharePoint analysis happens entirely in your browser — no SharePoint content or metadata is transmitted to SPO Scout servers. The only requests that leave your browser for us are the license checks (validation sends the license key, tenant domain and your email if you supplied one; the options page asks for your license status) and the optional feedback form. The security page lists every outbound request in full.

No SharePoint data is stored on our servers. What we hold is the license record: key, tenant domain, purchaser email, status and dates, plus any feedback you choose to send. On your own machine the extension keeps your license record, settings and recent action history in browser storage, and uninstalling removes all of it.

No. Permission data, file metadata and report output are read, analyzed and rendered in the browser. License validation sends your license key and tenant domain — never SharePoint content.

Site and library metadata, columns, content types, views, permission assignments, SharePoint group membership and, for the Pro sharing-link scan, sharing links — plus file properties such as name, size and version count. It does not read document contents. It runs in your existing Microsoft 365 session with no app registration or admin consent, so it can never see more than your own account can.

No. SPO Scout has no app registration, requests no Microsoft Graph permissions and triggers no tenant-wide admin consent prompt. It calls the SharePoint REST API from the page you are already signed in to. A Global Administrator is only involved if your organization restricts which browser extensions users may install.

No. SPO Scout is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. It is developed and published independently, from Canada, to help SharePoint administrators work more efficiently.

Chrome, Edge, Brave and Opera. SPO Scout installs from the Chrome Web Store, including in Edge. There is no Firefox version.

No. Just install SPO Scout from the Chrome Web Store. No extra downloads, server installations, or configurations needed.

SPO Scout is visual and needs no scripting: it suits quick analysis, permission audits and one-off tasks on the site you have open. PowerShell is better for scheduled, tenant-wide or custom automation. The two work well together.

No. ShareGate and Syskit Point are platforms for migrations and tenant-wide governance. SPO Scout is a lightweight tool for interactive audits and fixes on one site at a time, and it can be used alongside them.

One Pro license covers your entire Microsoft 365 tenant. All admins can use Pro features after activating with the same license key. This means a single $299/year license enables unlimited users in your organization.

Free: 3 analyses per day, permission reports for a whole site down to item level, user permission lookup, and comparison of columns, content types and views. Pro: unlimited analyses, group expansion, sharing-link scan and cleanup, CSV/PDF/JSON exports, Edit Metadata, copy operations, library recreation and more.

Yes! One license covers all admins in your tenant. Each admin installs the extension and activates with the same key.

A Pro license is a one-time payment of $299 per tenant, valid for one year. Nothing renews automatically: to keep Pro features after that, buy another year.